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The Upper School is alive with new energy and enthusiasm as students and colleagues return from Winter Break! It is wonderful to hear community members trade stories about recent adventures in the halls, and to witness students reconnecting with peers and faculty in their classrooms. Students are getting ready for exciting events this month, like the first student assembly and Fun Friday of 2025, the Winter Clubs Fair, volunteering opportunities at retirement homes and Winterfest to name a few. 

2025–26 course selection 

The course selection process for the 2025–26 academic year is underway with virtual course information evenings for families, group counselling sessions facilitated by the MYP Coordinator (students currently in Year 8) and the University Counselling Office (students currently in Years 9 and Year 10). All Year 10s will have individual counselling sessions with their University Counsellor. Please contact Elia Lopez, Administrative Assistant in the UCO to set up a meeting.

Upcoming course information evenings for families will be held virtually as follows:

Tuesday, Jan. 14, 7 to 8:30 p.m. | Class of 2027 (Year 10 students entering Year 11) Zoom link

Thursday, Jan. 16, 7 to 8:30 p.m. | Class of 2028 and 2029 (Year 9 students entering Year 10 and Year 8 students entering Year 9) Zoom link

For families unable to attend, a recording of the sessions and the slides will be shared via Heads Up. 

For your information, please see the UCC Course Offerings Guide 2025–26. Course selections are made by students online in Bluenet and opens on Tuesday, Jan. 14. Parents/guardians should review students course selections in their student’s Bluenet account and then approve those selections by logging into their parent/guardian account in Bluenet and completing the school form by the deadline noted below (detailed instructions will be included in a future Heads Up).

Course selection deadlines:

Year 8 students entering Year 9 | Class of 2029  Friday, Feb. 7 at 4 p.m.

Year 9 students entering Year 10 | Class of 2028 Friday, Feb. 7 at 4 p.m.

Year 10 students entering Year 11 | Class of 2027 Friday, Feb. 28 at 4 p.m.

MYP Coordinator: 

• Emilia Martin

University Counselling Office:

• Alison Champ, Bremner's and Howard's

• David Hanna, Jackson's

• Stephanie Rose, McHugh’s, Mowbray’s, Martland’s (L-Z)

• Nili Isaacs, Orr's, Scadding's, Martland’s (A-K)  

• Andrew Turner, Seaton's and Wedd's

Three-way conferences: Feb. 12 and 13

Registration through SchoolCloud will open soon for Upper School three-way conferences: 

Thursday, Jan. 9 at 9 a.m. ONLY for parents/guardians with multiple children enrolled at the Upper School OR boarding students in the Upper School. This priority access ensures families have sufficient time to schedule appointments for all of their children, and for overseas families to coordinate meetings with teachers across time zones. 

SchoolCloud will then be accepting bookings for the remainder of our families starting Tuesday, Jan. 14 at 9 a.m.

February 12 | In-person only: Each meeting will be five minutes long with five minutes of travel time between meetings. 

February 13 | Virtual only: Each virtual meeting will be five minutes, with a short break in between using the SchoolCloud program. 

Please do not book more than one appointment per teacher.

Preparing for your appointments

Once you have scheduled your appointments, please check your email inbox for a confirmation from SchoolCloud with your credentials. This will ensure you are able to join your appointment at the scheduled time(s). If you don't see the email, you may need to check your Spam folder, depending on your email settings. 

Note:

•  When registering, you will need to enter your name and your child’s name exactly as it appears on Bluenet. 

• Please ensure your device has been restarted recently to avoid technical difficulties.

Click here to schedule your three-way conference meetings

The registration link will remain open until Tuesday, February 11 at 12 p.m. 

Generally, only one parent/guardian books all the meetings, as they will then invite the other parent/guardian to join. For more information on how to do this and how to sign up for meetings, please visit the Bluenet Resource Board.  

 Questions?

For technical assistance, please email Sandra Fulford or call (416) 488-1125 ext. 2213. 

PO Speaker Series: Detective Corey Jones

The PO is pleased to host our next community event Speaker Series featuring Detective Corey Jones, who will speak about online safety and cyber bullying. This virtual evening session for parents follows Detective Jones’ presentation to students at the Principal’s Assembly earlier the same day

The talk will provide a general introduction to the various risks associated with the internet, emphasizing the need for caution when navigating online environments. It will then focus on the issue of cyberbullying. Detective Jones will then explain the potential crimes these behaviours can constitute and the capabilities of law enforcement to track and prosecute such offences. He will also offer guidance on what to do if someone is targeted by these online behaviours, including how to support the victim and report the bullying to the police.

Monday, Jan. 20

7 to 8 p.m.

Join by Zoom

About Detective Jones

Detective Corey Jones is a 22-year veteran of the Toronto Police Service and has been a frontline responder to notable events in Toronto, including the 2004 Union Station hostage-taking, a TTC maintenance subway derailment in 2007, the G20 black-bloc protests in 2010, and the North York van attack in 2018. He spent his first 10 years serving at 53 Division, where UCC is located. He has focused his career on criminal investigations since 2007 and is currently an investigator within the Professional Standards (Internal Affairs) Unit.

He is an experienced and provincially accredited Major Case Manager in many areas of criminal investigation. In addition to three years as a dedicated fraud investigator, Detective Jones was qualified last year as an undercover online investigator to assist in the investigation of internet-based crimes.

Before joining the police service, Detective Jones graduated from the University of Toronto and worked as a medical researcher at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health for ten years. Outside of policing, Detective Jones is a UCC parent with his wife Alexandra, to 2023 grad Cole and upcoming class of 2025 grad, Max. He is a stand-up paddleboard enthusiast, has recently taken up drone photography, and enjoys giving back to the community by volunteering to coach minor hockey.

Lost and found parade from Jan. 13 to 24

Is your son missing clothing, bags, water bottles, or shoes?

All lost and found items will be on display outside the Lower Dining Hall from Monday, Jan. 13 to Friday, Jan. 24. Parents and students are encouraged to drop by during school hours and take a look to see if anything is yours. Note that after 3 p.m. on Jan. 24, any remaining items will be donated to charity.

If you have any questions, please email The Used Blues Store (TUBS) team.

Student service opportunity 

Belmont House and The Russell Hill Intergenerational Visitation Program: January 2025 

A registration form has been sent to all students who may be interested in two unique opportunities to spend quality time with seniors in our community. There will be a pre-planned, very simple art activity that they can engage in with the seniors. There are two separate 45-minute sessions planned for 10–15 students each time. Students may sign up for one or both (1 service hour per session).

The Russell Hill visit will be Wednesday, Jan. 15 from 4–4:45 p.m. after school — we will walk over.

The Belmont House visit will be Thursday, Jan. 30 from 1:10–2:30 p.m. at Flex Time — we will taxi over.

Years 10 and 11 | Social Innovators Program

Dear Students and Families,

We are excited to announce that UCC is partnering again this year with the University of Pennsylvania and Schoolyard Ventures, an organization that develops university-level, real-world learning opportunities for ambitious high school students, to offer The Social Innovators Program for students in Years 10 and 11. 

The 12-week virtual program allows students to learn about social entrepreneurship and experience it first-hand, while earning a Certificate in Social Entrepreneurship from Penn.

During the program, students learn how to launch ventures of their own that create value and a positive impact on society. Students learn in small online classes and through engaging interviews and case studies with young entrepreneurs, with personalized one-on-one guidance and support along the way. Because students choose their own projects, each student's experience in the program is unique. Learn more about the program here. 

This program does have a cost associated with it, but financial support is available and consideration is made upon request. The application deadline is Thursday, Jan. 23 at 11:59 p.m. ET, and the program runs from the week of Feb. 17 through the week of May 12.

A virtual information session for students and parents will be held on Jan. 13 at 7 p.m. ET. Please register for the information session on the site.  

If you have any questions, please reach out to Paul Miskew.

Bags to Beds Service Initiative

During the last two weeks of December, students participated in Bags to Beds sessions after school in the Design Lab. This initiative unites the UCC community to repurpose plastic bags into durable sleeping mats for individuals experiencing homelessness, providing them with warmth and protection from the elements. By addressing the challenges of homelessness and plastic waste, each mat provides comfort and prevents over 750 plastic bags from ending up in landfills. This is a great opportunity for students to earn service hours.

The boys approached this challenge with enthusiasm and a sense of purpose. Every step of the process became an opportunity to collaborate and learn, transforming plastic bags—a common environmental pollutant—into something profoundly meaningful. These lightweight, weather-resistant mats offer not only practical benefits but also dignity to those in need.

To date, we have created three mats and successfully repurposed 2,250 plastic bags. The sign-up form for January sessions has been sent by email, and we are excited to begin again this week.

Matthew Tong, Year 11